Red Velvet Protein Mugcake + WIAW

Many of us have fallen in love with the spicy sauce, but did you know it has an interesting back story? Yesterday I came across this article explaining the history of “the world’s coolest hot sauce.”

It’s inventor and CEO, David Tran, came to the US from Vietnam in 1980 homeless. Unable to find a hot sauce to satisfy him in the States, he simply made his own with hybrid red jalapeño peppers, vinegar, sugar, salt, and garlic. He only hoped to make a sauce worthy of a traditional Vietnamese pho. He just discovered that sushi chefs have been using it for years to make spicy rolls! His use of a specific fresh chili is what sets him apart – and manufacturing is dictated by their 10 week, 100 million pound harvest.

Even more mind-blowing is that he has never hired a single salesman, spent any money on advertising, or used social media. “It’s all been word of mouth,” Tran says. As a marketing professional, this blows my mind!

I don’t know where my brain was last week when I said 3 weeks. THIS WIAW I am 3 weeks from my next competition! Just a couple of diet tweaks so far, and we added 15 mins of HIIT cardio. Anticipation of asparagus is high…

Read on for my eats, and then check out Jenn’s blog for everyone else delicious creations!

Breakfast:

As usual, I started the day I with my Aminos and ACV morning cocktail. I swear it’s more energizing than coffee.

My breakfast was warm and comforting one on a chilly, rainy morning. Pumpkin pie-esque oatmeal, with a serious protein punch. I really like adding eggsand TVP for texture as well as protein; it makes this into a custard-like bowl of oatmeal.

Pumpkin Pie Spiced Oatmeal

1/4 C TVP

1/4 C rolled oats

1/2 C water

1/2 C egg whites

1/4 c pumpkin purée

1.2 tsp cinnamon,

1/4 tsp ginger

Pinch of ground cloves

Stevia or other sweetener, to taste

In a small pot prepare oatmeal and TVP as normal.

When just done, add remaining ingredients, stirring rapidly to incorporate eggs before they scramble.

Pour into a bowl (or coffee mug) and enjoy!

Mid-Morning Snack:

Leftovers from this Sheepshead fish I prepared over the weekend, along with some roasted veggies. And a few unpictured rice cakes.

Lunch:

Mid-Afternoon Snack:

I love that I can get salmon sashimi from the massive international market here. It’s fresh and it’s cheap. Often I eat it plain, but I saw Jenn’s cucumber rolls and had to give it a go.

I only had 4 survivors (I need more practice), but they are so much fun to eat! I rolled them up with red peppers and asparagus, and dipped it all (including that sweet potato) in wasabi.

As delicious as it was, the best part was that my pancake-on-stick-eating coworker said it was so “pretty” that he wanted one. I handed it over and he loved it! Our food comparisons have become a running office joke… I love these guys.

Dinner:

Dinner was a super-quick saute of bok choy, green onions, sugar peas, and garlic in lime juice, coconut oil, and an Indian spice blend. It turned out so well that the rest was just details – chicken(made during Sunday food prep) and injera(Ethiopian teff bread).

Dessert:

I’ve been on a giant Greek yogurt bowl kick lately. That has to stop. 3 weeks out from my competition my trainer sad no more. The idea is to eliminate foods that could bloat. Dairy is one of them. No worries. I’ll just have Red Velvet Cake.

Place dry ingredients in a small bowl and stir to combine. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until smooth.

Transfer to a large, greased (I use coconut oil) coffee mug and microwave for 1:30 mins.

Tip the cake out onto a plate and top as desired. My cake was topped with nut butter, cacao nibs, and popcorn.

Makes 1 cake.

*Cocoa Cardio from iHerb. Use discount code USO924 for $5-10 off your order! You can also leave it out or use cocoa powder and 1/8 C beet puree to keep it red.

***

Thank you all of all of the kind comment on yesterday’s post. It’s sometimes hard for me to tap into the more emotional side – I use humor more often than not. So thank you for being empathetic and kind.

Are you a sriracha fan? What’s your favorite thing to add it to?

Have you ever attempted a homemade Asian roll? Oddly, I found the cucumber easier than dealing with rice paper or seaweed.

THOSE CUCUMBER ROLLS> I order them whenever I am at my favorite sushi joint. But now I should just really make them at home. I saw them on Jenn’s site the other day, tried to pin, failed miserably and walked away from my computer is dismay. And now you just reminded me of my FAIL! lol!!

However, you made me feel MUCH MUCH better with that Sriracha picture however, I already KNEW! lol!!

Alice in chains? Gosh, I love 90s grunge!
My husband is Sriracha fan, too, but I prefer that sweet chili sauces that is often served with mini springrolls. So sugary, but so so good!
Those cucumber rolls look so cute! We sometimes make regular sushi (we call it kimbap) at home. It’s actually a great finger food, ideal for long road trips. I fill my rolls with avocado, cucumber, pickled radish, and omlett stripes, and my husband adds surimi to his.

Oh my Gosh, I was the freakiest Grunge Chic back in the 90’s. Bring back those memories!
I do my tvp/oatmeal EXACTLY like you, love it! I sometimes leave it overnight and it turns into a bake. SO good. I love that the pancake-guy wanted your sushi roll! My coworkers ate my organic/healthy chocolate-apple muffins yesterday, score!
Oooh, 3 weeks!! So exciting!

We add sriracha to lots of things! Vishnu is a spicy food fanatic so it’s perfect for when I make something the perfect amount of spicy for me and not enough for him. Luckily it blends well with Indian food.

Word of mouth is the best for advertisements! I know I’m ten times more likely to buy a product recommended by a friend or family member than just off a tv ad. That story about the sriracha man is so interesting!

That is insane, I wish I could do that word of mouth I mean I do travel all over I guess I just need to be a bit more VOCAL. I just started eating greek yogurt and its been so addicting! I do notice my abs are not poking out so much anymore but thats ok for now..maybe one day I will be competing like you!! I can not wait to see all of your posts on the competition! Lots of Love! C

Gotta love Alice in Chains. We go through a ton of sriracha in our household. Pretty much goes with everything right? And I finally started using the tvp for oatmeal – but good golly the first time I tried 1/4 cup and like 1 tbsp oats, I couldn’t finish it. Thought my tummy was going to blow up. I can only do about 1/8 cup and about 2 – 2 1/2 tbsp oats. I don’t know how you add egg to that. OH, I will say that I soak the oats and tvp overnight and then just add more water and nuke in the morning. Timesaver tip.

How are we being so similar recently yet living so far apart? You know I was a week off of the competition date too, right? Kirk corrected me this weekend (which I was both happy & sad about). And both posting TVP Oatmeal today? Craziness. And yes…I love sriracha. It’s amazing!

My favorite food to eat doused in sriracha is avocado…something about the creamy-ness + spicy= perfection. Also, I now have “Rooster” from Alice in Chains in my head. Oh yeah, gotta love 90s grunge metal! Do I get the points??

THREE WEEKS?! Woo hoo…it’s getting close!! So excited for you sweetie! And ok, I have to say I’m getting a bit of a chuckle out of the fact that I just noticed those plates have names on them! Hahaha! I know I already said this on Insta, but gah, I’m so dang jealous of your sashimi!! The closest thing I can get around here is smoked salmon which is good, but yeah, you can only eat so much of that stuff before your tongue starts getting raw! I’ve only attempted sushi-making once (remember my avocado cabbage rolls for MMAZ?) and yeah, that was a biotch! I much rather prefer making summer rolls…even if I do sometimes curse the rice paper for sticking to every damn thing! Lol

I like sriracha but only in smaaaaaaaaaaaaall doses…because I’m a pansy…and it gives me heartburn! I think I’ll just stick to my chili garlic Cholula which I used to dose a plate of eggs, veggies, and butternut squash the other day! So good!

I am a huge fan of anything hot and spicy! I love sriracha and also some of the hot sauces from TJ’s. I would love to try the cuke rolls- but am afraid to use my mandolin- LOL! For now, I’ll continue to pick them up from my local Asian restaurant. I cannot wait to try the Red Velvet Mugcake- YUM!!!!

Wow, I work a lot in Marketing & Sales, too, and had no idea about the sriracha guy – makes me want to support it even more! Great story. I said to Heather after her TVP oatmeal post this week that I would try it, but yesterday I ran out of time and today I’m trying to eat only familiar things because I have a race tomorrow. After that … no excuses!!! Gotta try this.